President Trump on Dec. 14 tweeted that White House budget director Mick Mulvaney would become acting chief of staff. Photo by Monica Akhtar — The Washington Post

The post Trump will secure border ‘with or without Congress,’ Mulvaney says first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Trump announced the agreement to break the 35-day impasse as intensifying delays at the nation’s airports and widespread disruptions brought new urgency to efforts to resolve the standoff.

“I am very proud to announce today that we have reached a deal to end the shutdown and reopen the federal government,” he said from the Rose Garden.

After saying for weeks that he would not reopen the government without border wall money, Trump said he would soon sign a bill to re-open the government through Feb. 15 without additional money for his signature campaign promise. He said that a bipartisan committee of lawmakers would be formed to consider border spending before the new deadline.

“They are willing to put partisanship aside, I think, and put the security of the American people first,” Trump said. He asserted that “barrier or walls will be an important part of the solution.”

But he hinted that he was still considering taking unilateral action if efforts to come up with money for his wall fail. “I have a very powerful alternative, but I didn’t want to use it at this time,” he said.

RELATED: Shutdown jeopardizing prompt tax refunds once again

Overnight and into Friday, at least five Republican senators had been calling Trump, urging him to reopen the government and have the Senate consider his request for border wall money through regular legislation, according to a person familiar with the situation who was not authorized to discuss the private talks publicly.

The breakthrough came as LaGuardia Airport in New York and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey both experienced at least 90-minute delays in takeoffs Friday due to the shutdown. And the world’s busiest airport — Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport — was experiencing long security wait times, a warning sign the week before it expects 150,000 out-of-town visitors for the Super Bowl.

RELATED: FAA halting flights into LaGuardia airport due to air traffic control staffing shortage

Trump and the Democrats in Congress had remained at odds over his demand that any compromise include money for his coveted border wall.

The standoff became so severe that, as the Senate opened with prayer, Chaplain Barry Black called on high powers in the “hour of national turmoil” to help senators do “what is right.”

Senators were talking with increased urgency after Thursday’s defeat of competing proposals from Trump and the Democrats. The bipartisan talks provided a glimmer of hope that some agreement could be reached to halt the longest-ever closure of federal agencies, at least temporarily.

RELATED: Splintered Senate fails to pass opposing bills to end government shutdown

“There are discussions on the Senate side,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters Friday morning as she entered the Capitol. “We are in touch with them.”

Asked about Trump’s demands for border security measures as part of a bill temporarily reopening government, Pelosi said, “One step at a time.”

Pelosi was referring to a meeting Thursday between Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to explore next steps for solving the vitriolic stalemate.

RELATED: Talks start as Senate rejects 2 plans for ending shutdown

Pressure has been building among both parties to reopen agencies immediately and pay hundreds of thousands of beleaguered federal workers while bargainers hunt for a deal.

Monday is the start of federal tax filing season. But fewer than half of the furloughed IRS employees recalled during the shutdown to handle tax returns and send out refunds reported for work as of Tuesday, according to congressional and government aides. The employees had been told to work without pay.

At the White House Thursday, Trump told reporters he’d support “a reasonable agreement” to reopen the government. He suggested he’d also want a “prorated down payment” for his long-sought border wall with Mexico but didn’t describe the term. He said he has “other alternatives” for getting wall money, an apparent reference to his disputed claim that he could declare a national emergency and fund the wall’s construction using other programs in the federal budget.

RELATED: Federal workers take on odd jobs to make ends meet

Contributing to the pressure on lawmakers to find a solution was the harsh reality confronting 800,000 federal workers, who on Friday faced a second two-week payday with no paychecks.

In an embarrassment to Trump, a Democratic proposal to end the shutdown got two more votes in the Senate on Thursday than a GOP plan, even though Republicans control the chamber 53-47. Six Republicans backed the Democratic plan, including freshman Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who’s clashed periodically with the president.

The Senate first rejected a Republican plan reopening the government through September and giving Trump the $5.7 billion he’s demanded for building segments of that wall, a project that he’d long promised Mexico would finance. The 50-47 vote for the measure fell 10 shy of the 60 votes needed to succeed.

RELATED: Trump says ‘I will never, ever back down’

Minutes later, senators voted 52-44 for a Democratic alternative that sought to open padlocked agencies through Feb. 8 with no wall money. That was eight votes short. It was aimed at giving bargainers time to seek an accord while getting paychecks to government workers who are either working without pay or being forced to stay home.

Thursday’s votes came after Vice President Mike Pence lunched privately with restive GOP senators, who told him they were itching for the standoff to end, participants said. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said their message to Pence was, “Find a way forward.”

Throughout, the two sides issued mutually exclusive demands that have blocked negotiations from even starting: Trump has refused to reopen government until Congress gives him the wall money, and congressional Democrats have rejected bargaining until he reopens government.

Source: http://www.fox10phoenix.com/facebook-instant/president-trump-to-make-announcement-regarding-government-shutdown

The post Congress, Trump reach temporary deal to end government shutdown first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Pelosi told Trump that the House won’t approve a resolution allowing him to come to Capitol Hill until the government reopens.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a close Trump ally, said Pelosi’s action “sets a new low for American politics.” He called Pelosi’s decision “absurd, petty and shameful,” adding: “The judgment of history will not be kind.”

LAURA INGRAHAM SLAMS DECISION BY PRESIDENT

Trump said he is not going to look for an alternative venue due to the long tradition of the speech being delivered in the chamber of the House of Representatives.

Pelosi told Trump in a letter Wednesday that the Democratic-controlled House would turn down a measure for him to deliver the speech. Trump slammed Pelosi and called the decision a “great blotch on the country that we all love.”

White House officials told Fox News they were preparing for two tracks for next week’s speech. The preferred track is an address at the Capitol. The second track is a backup plan for a speech outside of Washington, D.C.

“There is no venue that can compete with the history, tradition and importance of the House Chamber,” he tweeted. “I look forward to giving a “great” State of the Union Address in the near future!”

Pelosi responded to Trump’s announcement with a tweet of her own. She said she hopes that “the near future” means that he is willing to support the “House-passed package” to end the shutdown that is affecting about 800,000 federal workers.

“Please accept this proposal so we can re-open government, repay our federal workers and then negotiate our differences,” she wrote.

House Democrats were prepared to possibly give Trump the $5.7 billion he wanted for security measures at the border with one caveat: The funds were not for a wall, The New York Times reported.

This year’s State of the Union address had been scheduled for Jan. 29.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-says-he-will-give-state-of-the-union-after-shutdown-is-over

The post Trump says he will give State of the Union after shutdown is over first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

President Trump was right to send a letter to Pelosi on Wednesday saying he is going ahead with plans to deliver the speech as scheduled from the House chamber.

“I look forward to seeing you on the evening on January 29th in the Chamber of the House of Representatives,” the president wrote. “It would be so very sad for our Country if the State of the Union were not delivered on time, on schedule, and very importantly, on location!”

REP. ANDY BIGGS: PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS ONLY ONE OPTION LEFT — DECLARE AN EMERGENCY AT THE BORDER

Pelosi cited security concerns during the partial government shutdown as a reason to postpone the president’s annual speech until after the shutdown ends – or to have him submit a written message. This is absurd. Pelosi knows the Department of Homeland Security can provide adequate security for the speech.

The State of the Union address, given by the president to a joint session of Congress every year, symbolizes the greatness of the American system of government. Pelosi’s snubbing of President Trump is an over-the-top symbol of the Democrats’ rejection not just of the man the American people voted to lead our nation, but of the will of the American people.

No speaker of the House – Democrat or Republican – should deny the duly elected president of the United States the opportunity to speak to a joint session of Congress and the American people in the annual rite of democracy that the State of the Union address has become.

The White House is still working with the House sergeant at arms to proceed as planned with the speech, though it is ultimately up to Pelosi to decide if the president can speak from the House floor.

Pelosi’s position shows that the Democrats are focused on politics rather than policy.

Even after President Clinton was impeached by a Republican House that vehemently disagreed with him on many issues, he was afforded the opportunity to make his case about the state of our nation to Congress and the American people in the House chamber.

Can you imagine the outrage if a Republican speaker of the House would have prevented Presidents Clinton, Obama or any past Democratic president from addressing a joint session of Congress and the American people?

Instead of her display of petulance, Pelosi should focus on saving American lives by securing our southern border. She continues to stubbornly keep part of our government closed rather than negotiating to build a border wall to safeguard our national security.

Walls work. A border wall will help deter the number of people who risk their lives to illegally enter the country.

A border wall will help us take back control of the border from drug and human trafficking cartels. It will force people coming into the U.S. from Mexico to ports of entry or to openings along the border where we can have our Border Patrol agents stationed to interdict illegal border crossers.

Pelosi’s rejection of giving the president the opportunity to speak to Congress and the American people shows the Democrats are opposing a border wall only because of their blatant animus and disdain against our president.

Let’s be frank: Pelosi is openly hostile to giving the President a political victory on anything. She is bowing to the most radical wing of her party to oppose just about everything the president supports.

As a representative of people in a border state, I would be arguing for a border wall and other border-strengthening measures regardless of who was president. This issue should not be about politics. It should be about protecting the people we all represent, regardless of their political affiliation or ours.

While the Democrats are playing politics, President Trump is listening to the experts on the border – Border Patrol agents and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents who encounter illegal immigrants.

Democrats have wrongly claimed that President Trump doesn’t listen to experts on trade or foreign affairs. It is hypocritical for Pelosi to now ignore the experts on border security while obeying the voices of the radical left-wing of her party.

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Playing games with the State of the Union address is immature and indicates a lack of respect for the border security issues that are animating many in this country.

It is time for Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to put the safety of the American people ahead of their political gamesmanship. They should provide funding for the border wall, reopen the federal government and invite President Trump to give his State of the Union address in the House chamber on schedule Tuesday.

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/rep-andy-biggs-pelosi-throws-political-temper-tantrum-on-trumps-state-of-the-union-speech

The post Rep. Andy Biggs: Pelosi throws political temper tantrum on Trump’s State of the Union speech first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The post Trump outlines immigration proposal to end government shutdown first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The announcement will occur at 3 p.m. at the White House, the president said.

Funding for a barrier at the nation’s southern border has been a point of contention between Republicans and Democrats during negotiations to end the partial shutdown, which began on Dec. 22. Trump has demanded almost $6 billion in funding for a wall or barrier, but Democrats have balked at that request.

The shutdown affects about one-quarter of the government, including nine Cabinet-level departments. It has also culminated in some 800,000 federal employees off the job or working without pay.

TRUMP CAMPAIGN SENDING FAUX RED BRICKS TO SCHUMER, PELOSI AMID BORDER WALL FIGHT

Earlier in the day, the president tweeted that the GOP was “so unified” and there would be “no ‘cave’ on the issue of Border and National Security.”

“A beautiful thing to see, especially when you hear the new rhetoric spewing from the mouths of the Democrats who talk Open Border, High Taxes and Crime. Stop Criminals & Drugs now!” Trump tweeted.

The White House has been engrossed in a back-and-forth with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this week after Trump on Thursday denied her the use of military aircraft for a foreign trip. Trump “postponed” the trip, citing the shutdown, just minutes before the congressional delegation was set to depart.

WHITE HOUSE DENIES PELOSI ‘LEAK’ CHARGE, AS DETAILS FROM KABUL CABLE RAISE QUESTIONS OVER CLAIM

“We will reschedule this seven-day excursion when the Shutdown is over. In light of the 800,000 great American workers not receiving pay, I am sure you would agree that postponing this public relations event is totally appropriate,” Trump wrote. “I also feel that, during this period, it would be better if you were in Washington negotiating with me and joining the Strong Border Security movement to end the Shutdown.”

While Trump pulled the plug on using military aircraft for the journey, he gave the Democratic leader the option of flying commercially.

“Obviously, if you would like to make your journey by flying commercial, that would certainly be your prerogative,” Trump wrote.

The move came after Pelosi requested Trump to delay the State of the Union address amid the partial shutdown.

On Friday, the situation escalated when Pelosi’s office accused the Trump administration of leaking plans for the congressional delegation to fly commercial to Afghanistan, saying the related security risks forced them to postpone the trip. However, the White House adamantly denied the leak allegation, calling it a “flat out lie.”

Fox News’ Alex Shaw, Brooke Singman, Chad Pergram, John Roberts and Kaitlyn Schallhorn contributed to this report.

The post Trump says he’ll make ‘major announcement’ Saturday about partial shutdown, border ‘crisis’ first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

If the Democrats thought blocking border wall funding with a partial government shutdown was the right hill to die on, they were sadly mistaken. Their lies about border walls have been exposed, and thus so have they.

This had led some in the party to think twice about being part of the herd.

While House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who declared the border wall “immoral,” and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer try to keep the Democrats in line, cracks are starting to show.

The Washington Free Beacon compiled numerous examples of Democrats speaking out in favor of a border wall.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York said, “There are areas along the border where there are currently fences that are put up or barriers that are put up that need to be enhanced.”

TRENDING: Hundreds of Memes Mocked Creepy Schumer, Pelosi Last Night. We’ve Got All the Best Ones Right Here

Massachusetts Rep. Katherine Clark echoed that sentiment, saying, “I think there are parts of the border that would benefit from repairing fencing and other barricades that already exist there.”

Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland took it a step further, saying, “Certainly you need barriers and we support barriers.”

But there is even more to this story of Democrats showing some unwillingness to continue with the battle that Pelosi and Schumer seem so dead set on fighting.

According to The Hill, some Democrats have even stated their support for President Donald Trump declaring a national emergency so the government shutdown can finally come to an end.

For example, while Virginia Rep. Don Beyer is hoping for “another creative solution” to the problem, he said, “Right now it looks like the only way out that people are talking about.”

Beyer said he isn’t all on board, but “it does seem like a way for him to reopen the government and yet save face. And I’m not against him saving face.”

Speaking of “saving face,” Beyer’s suburban D.C. district is home to many workers affected by the shutdown.

Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin also represents a district in the Washington suburbs impacted by the shutdown. He said he’s not sure a national emergency declaration is a good fit for what is going on at the border but it might be the best way, under current circumstances, to bring an end to the shutdown.

RELATED: Shocking Video Shows Actor Robert Davi Exploding on Schumer: You’re ‘Like a Rotten Corpse’

“I would much prefer if this whole debate over the wall were relocated from the political branches, where the president has been promising to hold his breath until his face turns blue, to the judicial branches, where we can have some kind of calm dissection of the actual circumstances on the ground at the border,” Raskin said, according to the Hill.

“If this is what it takes for the president to reopen the government of the United States, then most people will say, ‘So be it. Let him attempt his administrative emergency workaround to the Constitution and the Congress,’” Raskin said. “This might be the best of the bad lot in terms of the options left to us.”

Even some in Hollywood are abandoning support for the wall battle. One notable example is the outspoken leftist and singer Cher. Her Twitter feed is filled with Trump bashing, but on the government shutdown, she seemed to echo the president to a degree in telling Pelosi to end the battle.

In a tweet Wednesday, Cher called the House speaker a “hero” for her stance but said, “REAL PPL ARE REALLY SUFFERING … LET HIM HAVE HIS F-NG MONEY!!”

Many would see the Democrats as “heroes” if they ended the shutdown. They could use their willingness to give in on this as a “See, we compromise and work with the other side” talking point.

If they did so, everyone would win. The wall would get funding, the shutdown would end, and the Democrats could stop having to do damage control that everyone sees through on why they are against the wall funding.

Trump has made it clear he is not going to roll over on this issue. He has everything to win by standing firm. Meanwhile, the Democrats have everything to lose by continuing to test his resolve by fighting him on this particular issue.

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.

The post Democrats Crumbling Under Trump Assault. Pelosi, Schumer Allies Begin To Defect first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

YES, TRUMP CAN DECLARE AN EMERGENCY
Congress did not get to be so terrible overnight.

Feckless and incompetent, our legislative branch stumbles forward without direction or even a modest impulse toward self-preservation. But unlike the proverbial turtle on a fence post, it mostly got there by itself.

It may be dismaying for Democrats to hear just now, but President Trump most assuredly has the authority to declare a national emergency concerning matters of immigration. He has that authority because the Congress explicitly gave such power to the executive branch in 1976.

In the wake of Richard Nixon’s reign, Congress still devolved its own authority to an executive branch that had just proven itself to be an unreliable custodian of liberty.

The first president to issue an emergency proclamation was, not surprisingly, Woodrow Wilson, no fan of Congress or the Constitution. He established the United States Shipping Board which, essentially, made the government into a shipbuilding company. His three Republican successors did not follow suit, Calvin Coolidge especially abjured such monarchical power.

Franklin Roosevelt, however, had no such qualms and exerted broad executive authority over the ways Americans lived and worked, citing the emergency of a worldwide depression.

Eventually the Supreme Court did intervene, telling Roosevelt’s successor Harry Truman that no, he could not nationalize the steel industry because of some murky combination of the Soviet Union and labor disputes.

Things stayed murky for a while, even as Nixon’s royalist impulses led to new “emergencies,” including one to address striking postal workers in 1970.

The joke here is that the devolution of congressional authority that today gives Trump the power to override a clearly stated congressional refusal came from a Congress that was trying to put a check on executive authority. It was the same Democratic congressman who oversaw the effort to bring articles of impeachment against Nixon who spearheaded the National Emergencies Act. When Gerald Ford signed it into law it was received as a defeat for executive authority.

Har-de-har-har.

Consider that. Immediately after the previous high tide of abuse of executive authority and in the wake of a president being forced from office for lying about the illegal activities of his administration the Congress of these United States went ahead and granted broad authorities to the executive branch.

We don’t have enough test cases to know for sure, but the constitutional legitimacy of the law is dubious at best. Like our friend Judge Andrew Napolitano would say: “Legal but not constitutional.”

When Trump said today that it would “be very surprising [to him] that [he] would not declare a national emergency” it sounded preposterous and not just for his garbled syntax. Congress has repeatedly refused the president’s demands for an additional $4 billion or so in border security funding. Does the president really have the power to deploy the military to circumvent Congress?

Yup.

Like many great civilizations before us, America is slouching toward authoritarianism. Democracies tend toward kingship in almost every case since charismatic leaders and demagogues are so successful at deceiving voters by appealing to emotion rather than reason.

Our founders rejected pure democracy for that very reason. That’s why we have a republic in which institutions and a constitutional separation of powers prevents authority from coagulating. The same Democrats who now decry Trump’s claims of magisterial power include some of those who said, for instance, that Trump’s predecessor had the authority to mint a $1 trillion coin in order to circumvent congressional authority over borrowing.

There are many crises in America today. That may include our chaotic and malformed immigration regime. But it also includes our pitiful Congress, partisanship and electoral cowardice has made the branch of government intended to be the first among equals into a vassal.

THE RULEBOOK: INFERIORITY COMPLEX
“There is evidently a great inferiority in the power of the President, in this particular, to that of the British king; nor is it equal to that of the governor of New York, if we are to interpret the meaning of the constitution of the State by the practice which has obtained under it.” –Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 69

TIME OUT: DRILL ON   
History: “On this day in 1901, a drilling derrick at Spindletop Hill near Beaumont, Texas, produces an enormous gusher of crude oil, coating the landscape for hundreds of feet and signaling the advent of the American oil industry. The geyser was discovered at a depth of over 1,000 feet, flowed at an initial rate of approximately 100,000 barrels a day and took nine days to cap. Following the discovery, petroleum, which until that time had been used in the U.S. primarily as a lubricant and in kerosene for lamps, would become the main fuel source for new inventions such as cars and airplanes; coal-powered forms of transportation including ships and trains would also convert to the liquid fuel. Crude oil, which became the world’s first trillion-dollar industry, is a natural mix of hundreds of different hydrocarbon compounds trapped in underground rock.”

Flag on the play? – Email us at HALFTIMEREPORT@FOXNEWS.COM with your tips, comments or questions.

SCOREBOARD
Trump job performance
Average approval: 42 percent
Average disapproval: 53.4 percent
Net Score: -11.4 points
Change from one week ago: unchanged
[Average includes: Gallup: 40% approve – 55% disapprove; USA Today/Suffolk: 42% approve – 54% disapprove; Quinnipiac University: 39% approve – 52% disapprove; NBC/WSJ: 43% approve – 54% disapprove; Fox News: 46% approve – 52% disapprove.]

NEW BORDER WALL FIGHT IS TRUMP VS. TEXAS LANDOWNERS
AP: “As President Donald Trump travels to the border in Texas to make the case for his $5.7 billion wall, landowner Eloisa Cavazos says she knows firsthand how the project will play out if the White House gets its way. The federal government has started surveying land along the border in Texas and announced plans to start construction next month. Rather than surrender their land, some property owners are digging in, vowing to reject buyout offers and preparing to fight the administration in court. … Trump is scheduled to visit the border Thursday in McAllen, a city of 143,000 on the river. … The government has laid out plans that would cut across private land in the Rio Grande Valley. Those in the way include landowners who have lived in the valley for generations, environmental groups and a 19th century chapel. Many have hired lawyers who are preparing to fight the government if, as expected, it moves to seize their land through eminent domain. … Even a compromise solution to build ‘steel slats,’ as Trump has suggested, or more fencing of the kind that Democrats have previously supported would likely trigger more court cases and pushback in Texas. Legal experts say Trump likely cannot waive eminent domain — which requires the government to demonstrate a public use for the land and provide landowners with compensation — by declaring a national emergency.”

The Judge’s Ruling: To build or to not build a wall – This week Judge Andrew Napolitanoasks if the president alone can build a border wall: “The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. … All federal powers come from the Constitution — and from no other source. … President Trump has no power to build a wall or a fence or a doghouse on private property without an express or implied congressional authorization to do so. The vast majority of the property in Texas on which he wants to build is private, according to Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, whose district contains a longer stretch of the border than anyone else’s. Thus, the federal government must use eminent domain, which gives each landowner the right to a trial to challenge the government as to the worth of the property the government wants. … A valid emergency declaration streamlines the government to address the emergency, but it cannot authorize anything that the Constitution prohibits, nor can it authorize the president to avoid anything that the Constitution requires.” More here.

Graham gathered senators for last-ditch attempt to end shutdown – Politico: “Sen. Lindsey Graham is throwing a Hail Mary to reopen the government. Graham brought together a half dozen Republican senators Wednesday afternoon in a last-ditch attempt to resolve the three-week stalemate before President Donald Trump deploys an explosive emergency declaration to build his border wall. The Republican senators were joined mid-meeting by White House emissaries Jared Kushner and Shahira Knight, the president’s congressional liaison. Democrats were not invited to participate in the meeting, which largely comprised of centrist Republicans, including Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Susan Collins (R-Maine). The participants emphasized that the discussions were preliminary in nature, but some of these senators are scheduled to meet Thursday with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to continue the discussions, according to congressional sources.”

Trump cancels trip to World Economic Forum in Davos, cites funding standoff – Fox News: “President Trump announced he is canceling his upcoming trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland, citing the government funding standoff. ‘Because of the Democrats intransigence on Border Security and the great importance of Safety for our Nation, I am respectfully cancelling my very important trip to Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum,’ he tweeted.”

HARRIS EYES MLK DAY FOR KICKOFF
KCBS: “Sen. Kamala Harris has decided to run for president in 2020 and will announce her candidacy on or around Martin Luther King Jr. Day, probably at a campaign rally in Oakland, sources close to the freshman senator from California tell KCBS Radio. Harris, 54, has been making the rounds of television talk shows and appearing at several events this week as part of a brief tour to promote her new book, ‘The Truths We Hold: An American Journey.’ At every stop, when asked about running for president, Harris has answered with some variation of ‘I’m not ready yet’ to announce her decision, citing family considerations. But several sources knowledgeable about her plans say she is ready, and has in fact decided to run, with the enthusiastic blessing of her husband and two stepchildren. The debate within her camp is how, and where, to launch her campaign. The tentative plan is for Harris to enter the race for the Democratic presidential nomination with a campaign rally, most likely in Oakland, where she was born and began her legal career.”

Sanders issues apology for harassment of female staffers on 2016 campaign – Politico:“Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) apologized Thursday to women who said they were sexually harassed while working on his 2016 presidential campaign. His comments to reporters in the Capitol came shortly after POLITICO reported that a 20-something female staffer said she was forcibly kissed by a top Sanders adviser at a bar in Philadelphia on the final night of the Democratic National Convention. ‘It appears that as part of our campaign, there were some women who were harassed or mistreated. And I thank them, from the bottom of my heart, for speaking out,’ Sanders said after a press conference about a prescription drug bill he’s supporting. … ‘To the women in our campaign who were harassed or mistreated, I apologize,’ he added. … Sanders said he was not previously aware of the incident detailed by POLITICO.”

The Beto show goes to the dentist – Politico: “‘So, I’m here at the dentist.’ Thus began Beto O’Rourke’s latest dispatch from El Paso, Texas, where the potential presidential contender filmed himself in a green bib — and with dental tools in his mouth — talking with his dental hygienist about life on the U.S.-Mexico border. The unusual video, posted on Instagram, left jaws agape in Washington on Thursday. But it is in keeping with O’Rourke’s practice of livestreaming virtually anything — and, more recently, of focusing attention on the lives of people living along the U.S.-Mexico border. Introducing viewers to Diana, his dental hygienist, O’Rourke asked her what she wanted people to know about the border, as President Donald Trump continues to press for funding for a border wall.”

Ocasio-Cortez’s ‘Green New Deal’ emerges as litmus test – Fox News: “A growing number of Democrats considering a presidential bid have signaled support for the sweeping ‘Green New Deal’ pushed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other liberal lawmakers, underscoring how the 2020 field is being pulled further left by the influential progressive wing. … Higher-profile potential candidates ranging from Sen. Elizabeth Warren to Sen. Cory Booker also have voiced support. … Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. … along with Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., endorsed the proposal last month and said he would introduce his own version of a Green New Deal in 2019. … Former Obama administration Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, poised to make a 2020 announcement this weekend, will reportedly support the proposal… And Democratic darling Beto O’Rourke … is apparently supportive of the ‘concept.’ … Other 2020 prospects, like Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, have weighed in, but not yet offered official positions on the plan.”

STEVE KING DRAWS PRIMARY CHALLENGER AMID UPROAR
AP: “A three-term Iowa state senator says he plans to challenge longtime U.S. Rep. Steve King in next year’s Republican primary. Randy Feenstra, an assistant Republican legislative leader, announced Wednesday he intended to run for the northwest Iowa seat and has opened a federal campaign committee. Without mentioning King by name, Feenstra said the district doesn’t have a voice in Washington ‘because our current representative’s caustic nature has left us without a seat at the table.’ He added Iowans don’t need more ‘sideshows or distractions.’ King just began his ninth term. He’s known for hardline views on immigration, abortion and gun rights. Democrats and sometimes Republicans have criticized his blunt comments. King has typically won re-election easily in the solidly Republican district but narrowly defeated his Democratic opponent in November.”

Yet another Kansas Republican eyes Senate run – The Wichita Eagle: “Kansas Senate President Susan Wagle plans to form an exploratory committee in anticipation of a possible run for the U.S. Senate. Wagle, a Wichita Republican, said Wednesday she is taking a ‘serious look’ at a campaign after Sen. Pat Roberts announced last week he will not run again in 2020. Wagle – whose state Senate term will end in two years – has a reputation as a hardline conservative. She is also the first woman to serve as president of the Kansas Senate. In an interview, she emphasized her frustration with the continued partial federal government shutdown.”

PLAY-BY-PLAY
House Dems waste no time pushing legislation to put pressure on GOP – Roll Call

WH legal team gets ready to defend Trump’s executive privilege as House Dem investigations loom – WaPo

AUDIBLE: YIKES
“White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?” – Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, talking to the NYT.

FROM THE BLEACHERS
“In yesterday’s opinion you stated ‘….there’s far more cynicism than gullibility at play. This is about winning and losing. Republicans who are cheering on the shutdown would cheer just as hard if it was $3 trillion or $3. Forcing Democrats to knuckle under is the idea’. In fact, building additional physical barriers and being a ‘hawk’ on immigration has been a position popular among Republicans since at least 2005. Trump did not create this, he tapped into it and used it to win the primary. We support the shutdown because we have wanted additional physical borders for over a decade. 5.1 billion is a pittance compared to our 4 trillion budget, but it is much more than the 1.4 billion given in the Secure Fences act in 2006.” – Eric Scott, Jacksonville, Fla.

Share your color commentary: Email us at HALFTIMEREPORT@FOXNEWS.COM and please make sure to include your name and hometown.

CLEAN UP IN THE PRODUCE DEPARTMENT
WAPT: “A Jackson, Mississippi, grocery store was shut down after six women got into a fight inside the business. Investigators said a security guard was injured when he tried to break up the fight, which was recently reported at a Food Depot. Witnesses said the women were throwing cantaloupes and produce and hit the guard over the head with a glass bottle of syrup. He was taken away in an ambulance. The women left behind a mess, including torn-out hair extensions and broken merchandise, witnesses said. It’s unclear if any arrests were made.”

AND NOW, A WORD FROM CHARLES…
“Best to mandate nothing. Let the customer decide. A 60-year-old couple doesn’t need maternity coverage. Why should they be forced to pay for it? And I don’t know about you, but I don’t need lactation services.” – Charles Krauthammer (1950-2018) writing in the Washington Post on March 30, 2017.

Chris Stirewalt is the politics editor for Fox News. Brianna McClelland contributed to this report. 

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/yes-trump-can-declare-an-emergency

The post Yes, Trump can declare an emergency first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

LEAH MILLIS / REUTERS

Now Pelosi serves as the de facto head of the Democratic Party, and that is allowing her to play a role in setting the agenda, much to Trump’s chagrin. The result is that the president seemed on Thursday to be fighting the battle on Democrats’ territory, litigating whether the crisis was “manufactured,” rather than on his own, the purported need for a border wall.

“So it’s a manufactured—but it’s not,” Trump said. “What is manufactured is the use of the word manufactured. It is manufactured by them.”

Other speakers at the roundtable dutifully plied the same ground.

“To those of you who say this is a manufactured crisis, it’s a manufactured cover-up by your opposition. We had 500,000 people apprehended crossing the border from San Diego to Brownsville last year,” said Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, a Trump ally.

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, who often struggles with facts, opted instead for dudgeon. “For those who would like to put their heads in the sand and pretend it’s manufactured, it’s not only an insult and disturbing to those who lost loved ones, but it’s an insult to our country,” she said.

Read: A frenzied week in Washington produced absolutely no progress

The Democrats’ line about a manufactured crisis serves to take some heat off freshman members who are reportedly somewhat nervous over the ongoing shutdown. Many of them come from swing districts, and they didn’t intend for their first weeks in Congress to be consumed with a shutdown. It’s more advantageous to point a finger at Trump for fabricating a problem than it is to debate the merits of the wall, since few Americans really want to build the barrier.

This doesn’t mean Democrats will win the shutdown fight politically. Polling has consistently shown that more Americans blame Trump than they do Democrats, but the numbers haven’t shifted much over the three weeks the government has been partially closed.

Pelosi has many political skills, but public speaking isn’t her forte. She’ll never be as quick with a sound bite as Trump—almost no one is. But the fact that Trump is so focused on rebutting the “manufactured crisis” sound bite shows how winning the House has given the Democrats a more level playing field.

We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.

DAVID A. GRAHAM is a staff writer at The Atlantic, where he covers U.S. politics and global news.

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Source: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/01/trump-fires-back-democrats-manufactured-crisis/580102/

[Disclaimer]

The post Trump Is Debating the Shutdown on Democrats’ ‘Manufactured’ Terms first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The post President Trump speech from the Oval Office at the White House on Border and National security first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.